Apparatus for use in making shoes



April 4, 1961 c c 2,977,609

APPARATUS FOR USE IN MAKING SHOES Filed April 21. 1958 fizz emf? Ea will6. tlz'ia flzjzz nited tts This invention relates to apparatus formaking shoes and especially to shoes having bottoms of rubber or plasticattached thereto by molding and fusion.

of the bottom to the upper.

The principal objects of this invention are, to hold the bottom. Asherein illustrated, the last is mounted on a support which is movablerelative to the bottom mold to bring the last into registration with themold and there is means on the form of tension means, of which there aretwo, having Patented Apr. 4, 1961 and now Patent No. 2,878,523, issuedMarch 24,

Hardy, 1959.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation to larger scale showing the tensionproducing means;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan viewlooking down at the top of Fig. 2, withthe upper last and its supporting means omitted;

Fig.

posts mounted a horizontal shaft its horizontal axis, as disclosed inthe aforementioned bottom attaching position in which a bottom or bottomforming composition is molded and fused to the bottom of the upper.

' rding to one Acco last the lasting margin is drawn inwardly over thebottom not been Wholly successful.

According to this invention tension is maintained in an upper U, whichhas been assembled on the last 22, for example by string lasting, bytension producing means 2 6, of which there are two, one at each side ofthe shaft 16, so that both sides of the upper may be placed under meanscomprises as shown in Fig. 2, to relieve the tension and hence permitdisengagement of the hooks from the eyes.

Instead of using hooks 30, anchor plates 52, such as shown in Figs. 5and 6 may be employed. These plates are connected by strands 54 to thescrew 34, are adapted to lie between the wall of the last and the insideof the upper adjacent the eyelet holes and have pins v56 projectingtherefrom for engagement with the eyelet holes.

Alternatively, spring clamps 58 may be employed such as shown in Figs. 7and 8, the jaws of which may be engaged with the upper edge of the upperat appropriate places to hold the upper smoothly.

As has been pointed out above, the apparatus is provided with two lastsso that while one last is in registration with the bottom mold forattachment of a bottom member thereto, the other is in a position formounting of an upper in preparation for attachment of the bottomthereto. The tension producing apparatus is accordingly designed so thatthe tension can be maintained in the upper, that is, in bottom attachingposition during that part of the fusion when the bottom forming compoundis flowing about the bottom and until fusion is nearly completed, andthen may be disconnected and transferred to the upper at the loadingposition just before the completed shoe is finished, and connected tothe upper on the last at the loading position to make it ready for thebottom attaching operation. This effects a saving in time and avoids aduplication of tensioning means. The transfer of the tensioning means isillustrated clearly in Fig. 1, from the full line position in which itis holding the upper in bottom attaching position under tension to thedotted line position in which it is holding the assembled upper on thelast at the loading position. All that is required is that the tensionproducing means be disconnected from the upper on the lower last, andthe means be swung upwardly and connected to the upper on the upperlast. The arm 42 is temporarily released from the position in which itengages the abutment pin 50 during the transfer of the tension producingmeans thereby releasing tension in the spring elements 28 and 40 forfacilitating said transfer.

It is evident from the foregoing that a very simple tension producingmeans is thus provided which may be adjusted to produce various degreesof tension, is adaptable to different size shoes and eliminates thenecessity of providing the last with special attaching pins.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a machine for attaching a bottom to an upper on alast, a pair of lasts each being adapted to support an upper with itslower margin secured inwardly of the shoulder at the bottom, meansmounting the lasts for successive movement to a position to have abottom attached first to one and then to the other upper supported onsaid lasts, and tension means carried by the last-named means forapplying a pull to said one upper heightwise of the bottom in adirection to hold the upper taut on the last, said tension means beingtransferable from said one upper to said other upper for successivelyholding the upper with which it is engaged taut on its last duringattaching of a bottom thereto.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension means includes aplurality of springs having individual hooks arranged to be engaged withthe eyelet holes in the upper.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension means includes,at one end, anchoring plates adapted to lie between the last and theupper next to the eyelets and pins fastened thereto which are adapted toproject through the eyelets from the inside.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension means includes,at one end, spring clamps, the jaws of which are adapted to be engagedwith the upper edge of the upper.

5. In combination with a machine for attaching a bottom to an upper on alast, a pair of lasts each of which is adapted to support an upper withits lower margin secured inwardly of the shoulder at the bottom, asupport mounting the lasts for successive movement to a position to havea bottom attached first to one and then to the other upper supported onsaid lasts, and contractile means connected at one end to said one upperand at the other ends to the support under tension whic exert a pull onthe upper heightwise of the bottom in a direction to hold the upper tauton the last, the said one end of said contractile means beingtransferable from one upper to said other upper for successively holdingan upper taut on its last during attachment of a bottom thereto.

6. In combination with a machine for attaching a bottom to an upper on alast, a last for supporting the upper with its lower margin securedinwardly of the shoulder at the bottom, a support mounting the last formovement to a position to have a bottom attached thereto, spring meansconnected at one end to the upper, levers on the support to which theother ends of the spring means are attached and abutments on the supportagainst which the levers may be placed to hold the spring means undertension.

7. In combination with a machine for attaching a bottom to an upper on alast, a last for supporting the upper with the lower margin securedinwardly of the shoulder at the bottom, a support mounting the last formovement to a position to have the bottom attached thereto, spring meansconnected at one end to the upper, a pair of levers pivotally mounted onthe support to one end of which the other ends of the spring means areattached, abutments on the support at the other side of the pivotsengaged by the other end of the levers for holding the spring meansunder tension, and said levers being laterally displaceable to disengagethem from the abutments.

8. In combination with a machine for attaching a bottom to an upper on alast, a support mounting a pair of lasts at diametrically oppositepositions for movement of one into operative position and the other to aloading position, a pair of levers pivotally mounted on the supportmidway between the lasts, spring means connected at one end to one endof each lever, the opposite end of each spring means being adapted to beconnected to the upper on either one of the lasts, and abutments on thesupport with which the other end of each lever may be engaged to holdthe spring means under tension.

9. In combination with a machine for attaching bottoms to uppers pulledon lasts, a support mounting a pair of lasts at diametrically oppositepositions for movement about an axis midway between them to bring onelast into an operative position and the other into a loading position, apair of levers on the support substantially at the axis of rotation atopposite sides thereof, and tension producing means mounted on thesupport at both sides thereof for applying tension to the upper at bothsides, said tension producing means being connected at one end to thelevers and their opposite ends being transferrable from the upper on onelast to the upper on the other last.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS361,628 Holland Apr. 19, 1887 1,081,907 Hansen Dec. 16, 1913 1,496,020Pym June 3, 1924

